


Swan Song

by castivak



Series: Reverse!Verse [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Sam Winchester, Episode: s05e22 Swan Song, Gen, Human Castiel (Supernatural), Human Gabriel (Supernatural), Hunter Castiel (Supernatural), Hunter Gabriel (Supernatural)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 10:00:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18092234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castivak/pseuds/castivak
Summary: castiel proposes an idea on how to stop the apocalypse and nobody is on board......at first.





	Swan Song

**Author's Note:**

> reverse!verse au!!!  
> \- gabriel and castiel are hunters, taking place of the winchester  
> \- jimmy is adam  
> \- sam is an angel, taking castiel's place  
> \- bobby is just bobby

castiel took a sip from his beer, curled up on the hood of the impala, resting his head back and just staring off into space, letting his mind wander.  
  
but, his brain always wandered to the bad places.  
  
bad places like how lucifer was still walking about and how the archangel wanted to get in him more than anything.  
  
bad places like how he let lucifer out in the first place.  
  
bad places like.....what would the cage really be like?  
  
the youngest novak was still set on letting lucifer in, overpowering the motherfucker and jumping into the cage. it was the only good plan they had so far, everything else they tried or proposed was quickly proven wrong or turned down.  
  
so, what else could they do?  
  
castiel turned as he heard footsteps, seeing gabriel walking towards him and he gave a tiny "hey" to his older brother, watching him bend down and grab a beer from the cooler beside the car, leaning against it as he cracked open the bottle.  
  
".....gabe? what's going on?" castiel spoke up, the silence from his brother was uncomfortable and the type of weird tbat made his stomach turn, and after a heavy sigh, gabriel spoke up. "i'm in."  
  
the hunter furrowed his eyebrows and turned slightly, looking up at his brother in pure confusion, "in with...?"  
  
"the whole "up with satan" thing, i'm on board."  
  
"you're gonna let me say yes?" castiel questioned as he sat up and faced his brother, extremely taken aback by gabriel's statement.  
  
"no, thats the thing, its not on me to let you do anything. you're a grown man. if this is what you want, i'll back your play."  
  
"that's the last thing i thought you'd ever say."  
  
"....might be." gabriel muttered and castiel let alone a small chuckle, "not gonna lie to you though, it goes against every fiber i got."  
  
"i mean, truth is.....you know, watching out for you.....s'kinda been my job, ya know? more than that, its kinda who i am. you're not a kid anymore, cas, and i can't keep treating you like one.....maybe i gotta grow up a little too."  
  
"a little?"  
  
"fuck off, dude i'm trying to be all supportive and shit." gabriel huffed through a laugh and castiel smiled, fiddling with his half-empty beer bottle. "anyways, i don't know if we got a snowballs chance, but.....i do know that if anybody can do it, its you."  
  
"....thank you."  
  
"if this is what you want....is this _really_ what you want?"  
  
castiel took a deep breath, slowly letting it out and shaking his head slightly, "i let him out...i gotta put him back in." he spoke and gabriel swallowed thickly, nodding a little.  
  
"okay....that's it, then."

**•◇•**

  
castiel wiped the blood off his knife and hands, watching sam bend down and gather up the already full gallon jugs of the crimson shit.  
  
a shiver ran through him as he realized that he was going to have to drink _all_ of that for lucifer to come in, it was probably more than all of the blood that he drank from meg and the other random demons.  
  
he gave this up, only to go right back into it for a suicide mission.  
  
castiel put the blade away in his coat and grabbed the two jugs that sam didn't pick up, walking out to the car and putting them in the trunk, the angel right behind him and loading his bottles in too before the hunter shut the trunk.  
  
gabriel sighed as he watched his brother, shaking his head and then walking over to where bobby was standing by the open backdoors of his van, "still can't get used to you at eye level." he mumbled and the older man smiled, "so, was i right?"  
  
"as always yoda, two stunt demons inside, just like you said."  
  
"didja get it?"  
  
"yeah, all the "go juice" cassie can drink." the novak muttered and looked over to his younger brother, the man wiping some excess blood off his hands and talking to sam.  
  
the angel was having a rough time with this too, having to watch someone that he deeply cared about and probably considered his family get ready to let an archangel possess him and spend an eternity in hell's deepest pit.  
  
gabriel could tell that sam hated it just as much as everyone else.  
  
"you okay?"  
  
"not really...i mean, are any of us okay right now?" gabriel shrugged and bobby let out a small sigh, "no, and if i didn't know any better, i'd say sam is ready to throw himself in too."  
  
"what, really?"  
  
"look at the poor kid and tell me that he doesn't look at cas like he'd do anything for him." bobby spoke and gabriel looked over to sam, who was standing beside the bright white car and listening to castiel speak, gabriel's eyes widening as he noticed the longing look in sam's eyes.  
  
"....wow, the guy's fallen hard." he mumbled, hoping that sam's celestial hearing wasn't as strong as it used to be, not wanting to be caught gossiping about him like some highschooler. "anyways, what d'ya got?"  
  
"not much, these look like omens to you?" bobby spoke as he handed him a newspaper and the man took it, "cyclone in florida, temperature drop in detroit, wildfires in los angeles--"  
  
"wait, what about detroit?"  
  
"temp's dropped twenty degrees, but only in a five-block radious of downtown motown."  
  
"that's the one, devil's in detroit."  
  
"really? as far as foreboding goes, that's a little light on the loafers, ya sure?"  
  
"yeah, i'm sure."

  
**•◇•**

  
gabriel was driving, a bit over the speed limit, down the highway with their music playing softly when he jumped slightly as he heard a snore, turning his head and seeing castiel wide awake and just as confused, gabriel turning his head back and seeing sam, the angel passed the hell out in the back seat.  
  
"awww, ain't he a little angel." he smirked and castiel turned, his heart dropping as he saw sam's sleeping form and he settled back into his seat, "...angel's don't sleep."  
  
gabriel looked back a second time, a pit of fear forming in his stomach as he realized that castiel was correct.  
  
"cas, i got a _bad_ feeling about this."  
  
"well, you'd be nuts to have a _good_ feeling about it."  
  
"you what i mean." gabriel huffed and castiel shook his head, looking back at the road zooming past them, " _detroit_. he always said he'd jump your bones in detroit and here we are."  
  
".....here we are."  
  
"maybe this is him rolling out the red carpet, ya know? maybe he knows something that we don't."  
  
"gabe, i'm sure he knows a _shit-load_ that we don't." castiel scoffed through a laugh, turning to look at his brother, "we just gotta hope that he doesn't know 'bout the rings." he finished and gabriel swallowed thickly, turning his eyes back towards the road and castiel sighed, feeling like he was drowning in the now awkward silence of the car.  
  
he needed to clear the air, somehow.  
  
"hey, uhm....on the subject, there's something i gotta talk to you about."  
  
"what?"  
  
"this thing goes our way and i....triple lindy into that box......y-you know i'm not coming back?" castiel stammered and he saw gabriel tense up, a pit of fear and sadness forming in his stomach as he spoke. "....yeah, i'm aware."  
  
"so, you gotta promise me something."  
  
"okay, yeah, anything."  
  
"you gotta promise not try to bring me back."  
  
"what? no, i didn't sign up for that."  
  
"gabriel--"  
  
"your hell is gonna make my tour look like _graceland_! you-you want me to just sit by and do nothing?!" gabriel spat and castiel sighed, he knew this was going to happen, but he also knew that he could convince his brother. "once the cage is shut, you can't go poking at it, gabe. its too risky."  
  
"no, no, no, no, as if im just gonna let you rot in there."  
  
"yes you are, you don't have a choice."  
  
"you can't ask me to do this."  
  
"i'm sorry gabe, you _have_ to."   
  
"so then what am i supposed to do?"  
  
"you go find kali." castiel spoke and gabriel scoffed at the mention of his former love, "you _pray_ that she's dumb enough to take you in and-and you have _barbecues_ and you go to football games--or whatever the fuck you're into--you go live some normal, apple pie life, gabriel."  
  
gabriel took a breathe and looked to his brother, the tiniest smile on his face and castiel clenched his jaw, needing to hear his brother saw those goddamn words.  
  
"promise me!"

  
**•◇•**

  
sam, gabriel, and castiel watched as bobby came back, binoculars in his hand and he huffed, "demons, at least two dozen of 'em. you were right, something's up."  
  
"more than something." gabriel interrupted and castiel swallowed thickly, hands shaking in his pockets as he looked at his brother and surrogate father, "he's here, i know it."  
  
gabriel got up from leaning against the impala and pulled his keys out, going over to the trunk and castiel stood up as well, sighing as he looked at bobby and the older man walked forward, tears in his eyes and castiel struggled to keep his in as well.  
  
"see ya around, kid." bobby mumbled and castiel nodded, swallowing against the lump in his throat, "see you around." he whispered and bobby lunged forward, wrapping his boy in a tight hug and castiel hugged back just as tight.  
  
"he gets in, you fight him tooth and nail, you understand? keep swingin', don't give an inch." bobby breathed out shakily as they pulled away, castiel nodding and swallowing, "yes, sir."  
  
bobby gave him one more pat on the back before going away, the young hunter rubbing a hand over his face as he turned to sam, the angel standing off the side with tears in his eyes as well, the sight making castiel's heart sink.  
  
he's rarely seen sam show any emotion, let alone get teary-eyed.  
  
castiel took a deep breath and walked over to sam, smiling a tiny bit before speaking, "take care of these guys, okay?"  
  
"that's not possible." sam whispered and castiel chuckled a little, _god_ he was going to miss this fucker. "then humor me."  
  
"oh, i was supposed to lie.....uh, _sure_ , they'll be fine." sam tried and castiel laughed, grabbing him and pulling him in for a tight hug, which caused the angel to jump in surprise.  
  
"you gotta hug back, sam."  
  
"o-oh right, of course."  
  
sam wrapped his arms around castiel, hugging hin tightly and putting his face against the shorter man's shoulder, closing his eyes to fight tears and cussing out human emotions in his head.  
  
castiel pulled away and gave the angel a pat on the chest, smiling up at him before turning to gabriel, who had been watching them with a smile on his face.  
  
"shut up, gabe."  
  
"oh, you know damn well that i never will." the eldest novak chuckled and castiel smiled, walking over to him and peering into the open trunk, seeing the gallons of demon blood and his stomach twisted at the sight and smell of it.  
  
"yo-you mind not watching this?"  
  
gabriel silently nodded and walked away before castiel slowly reached forward and picked up a jug.  
  
the man made his way over to sam and bobby, the angel looking down at the ground and blinking rapidly, a tell-tale sign that he was getting tears out of his eyes. "you need a minute, sammy?"  
  
"n-no, i'm okay."  
  
"hey, look at you, getting better at lying."  
  
"castiel would say otherwise." sam spoke and gabriel chuckled lightly, hearing the trunk door slam and he turned around, castiel leaning against the trunk and breathing heavily, clearing his throat as he stood up straight.  
  
"okay." the younger man declared as he walked forward, "lets go." he continued and walked past the three men, gabriel lagging for a minute before following his younger brother, sam and bobby watching his sad eyes.  
  
the two brothers walked down the street, making their way towards the abandoned building that had swarms of demons in it.  
  
"alright!" castiel shouted, raising his arms in the air, "we're here! you motherfuckers! come and get it!" he continued and two demons immediately walked out the front door, staring gabriel and castiel down.  
  
"hey guys, is your father home?"  
  
the two demons advanced forward, grabbing them and the brother's let the demons drag them up a flight of stairs before bursting through a door, a chill going through castiel and gabriel's spine as the temperature dropped.  
  
they were shoved forward and they stopped at the sight of lucifer, the archangel just staring out the window and castiel gulped, hands shaking.  
  
"hey guys, so nice of you to drop in." he purred and took a breath, exhaling onto the window and the brothers watched as the glass was covered in frost, the devil licking his finger and beginning to draw in the frost, "sorry if its a bit chilly, most people think i burn hot, but its actually quiete the opposite."  
  
"i'll alert the media."  
  
lucifer turned around, shaking himself off and clapping his hands together as he walked forward, all of his confidence being shown in his steps.  
  
"help me understand something, guys. i mean stomping through my front door is....a _tad_ suicidal don't you think?"  
  
"we're not here to fight you!"  
  
"no? then why are you?"  
  
"i wanna say 'yes'." the younger novak spat and lucifer raised his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side and looking at the man, "excuse me?"  
  
castiel inhaled sharply, standing up straighter and the few demons that were around them had a burst of orange light flash around their heads before they collapsed to the ground, dead.  
  
"chock-full of ovaltine, are we?"  
  
"you heard me, yes!"  
  
"you're serious." lucifer smiled and castiel looked to gabriel, who looked scared shitless and he took a breath, looking back at the devil. " _look_ , judgment day's a runaway train, we get it now, we just want off."  
  
"meaning?"  
  
"deal of the century! i give you a free ride, but when its all over; _i_ live, _he_ lives, you bring our parents back--"  
  
"okay, can we _please_ drop the telenovela?" lucifer interrupted and castiel clenched his jaw, "i know you have the rings, castiel."  
  
"i have no idea what you're talking about."  
  
"the horsemans' rings? the magic keys to my cage?" he spoke and walked towards castiel, about a foot away from him, "ring a bell?"  
  
castiel and gabriel kept their mouths shut, a deadly glare on the younger's face as he looked at the devil, "c'mon cas, i've never lied to you. you could at least pay me the same respect!"  
  
the two brothers turned as the archangel walked past them, both of their stomachs twisting in disgust at his smile.  
  
"its okay, i'm not mad." satan smiled as he fidgeted with his hands, "a wrestling match inside your noggin, i like the idea. just you and me. one round. no tricks." he continued as he counted them off on his fingers, "you win, you jump in the hole. i win....well, then i win. whaddya say, cas?" he finished and gabriel looked to his brother, the younger's fists and jaw clenched tightly.  
  
"a fiddle of gold against your soul says i'm better than youuuu."  
  
castiel swallowed thickly, "so, he knows. doesn't change anything." he muttered and gabriel's eyes widened.  
  
"cas--"  
  
"we don't have any other choice."  
  
"no."  
  
castiel ignored him and cleared his throat, standing up taller and looking lucifer in the eye, " _yes_." he spoke and the archangel smiled, a bright light surrounding him and gabriel shielded his eyes, unable to stare into it and instead dealt with the terrible ringing in his ears, waiting for it all to die down before he looked back up.  
  
gabriel looked around, seeing nobody standing and he turned, finding castiel on the floor, knocked out and lucifer's former vessel across from him, dead.  
  
the man quickly pulled the four rings out of his pocket, staring at them before throwing the conjoined jewelry at the wall, keeping his eye on them before staring the spell.  
  
_bvtmon! tabges! babalon!_  
  
the wall began to crack, it imploding on its before creating a huge hole that was acting similar to a vacuum, wind whipping around gabriel like a tornado.  
  
gabriel turned around, seeing castiel trying to stand and he rushed over, "cassie!" he shouted over the wind and helped him up, "gabe! i can feel him!" his younger brother shouted back and he grabbed onto gabriel's arm, face screwed up in pain as he got to his knees, "oh god!"  
  
"you gotta go now! come on!"  
  
gabriel hoisted castiel up, the man leaning onto him and gripping his sleeves, "go now, cas!" he shouted to him and castiel swallowed thickly, eyes wide in horror, "now!"  
  
with new found strength, castiel shoved away from gabriel and he walked towards the gaping hole, gabriel watching him in anticipation and he saw castiel's shoulders begin to shake, laughter bubbling out from his chest and filling the air as he cackled, turning to gabriel with a wide smile on his face.  
  
" _wow_ , you're so easy! i was just messing with you!" _**lucifer**_ beamed, shrugging his shoulders and clapping his hands together, "your precious cassie is _long_ gone." he smirked and gabriel's heart dropped as the archangel turned around, repeating the incantation that the other man had said before.  
  
_chdr! bvtmon! tabges! babalon!_  
  
the wind stopped and the hole suddenly disappeared, just the four rings remaining on the now intact wall.  
  
lucifer moved forward and grabbed the rings off the wall, a permanent smile on his face as he turned back around, tapping the "key" against his palm and beaming at gabriel, who looked ready to kill.  
  
"i told you, this would _always_ happen in detroit." lucifer smiled before vanishing, leaving gabriel alone and the man took shaky breaths, hands shaking as he spun around in a circle, gripping at his hair and letting tears pour down his cheeks.

  
**•◇•**

  
lucifer walked through the circle of demons, stretching out castiel's joints and bones as he settled into the new body, "oh, castiel." he whispered to the man inside as he cracked his neck, able to feel castiel fighting as hard as he could. "c'mon kiddo, i can feel you, scratching away in there....kinda tickles if i'm being honest with ya."  
  
lucifer looked into the broken mirror across from him, smiling at the reflection and he walked towards it, "listen, i'll take the gag off, okay?" he spoke and stopped before the mirror, "you got me _all wrong_ , pretty boy. i'm not the bad guy here."  
  
his reflection turned to just castiel, the poor guy breathing shakily and his whole body trembling in fear, which made lucifer's icy heart jump for joy.  
  
"i'm gonna rip you apart from the inside out, do you understand me?!" castiel spat, clenching his fists and jaw.  
  
it was really strange, seeing yourself in the mirror and speaking to what looks like you, but really isn't.  
  
"such anger, young skywalker." lucifer taunted, crossing his arms and the smug smile still painted on his face, castiel struggling even harder as he tried to break the surface and take control, wanting to kill this bastard that was controlling him. "who are you _really_ angry with? me? or that face in the mirror?"  
  
"i'm sure this is all a big joke to you, huh?"  
  
"oh, not at all, i've been waiting for you. for a long, long time." lucifer smiled and then chuckled, "c'mon cassie--"  
  
"--don't call me that!"  
  
"--you have to admit, you can _feel_ it, right?"  
  
"what?"  
  
"the exhilaration, castiel! and you know why that is?!" lucifer snapped, waving his hands as he spoke, "we're two halves made whole! m.f.e.o! literally!"  
  
"this feels _pretty damn far_ from good."  
  
"i'm inside your grapefuit, love, you can't lie to me." the archangel smiled as he tapped the side of his head, rocking on his feet as he talked to castiel, "i see it all....how odd you always felt, how....out of place in that _family_ of yours. and why shouldn't you have? they were _foster care_ at _best_ \--"  
  
"don't you dare talk about them like that!"  
  
\-- _i'm_ your real family, castiel!  
  
"no thats not true."  
  
"but it is, and i know that you know it. all those times you ran away, you weren't running from _them_......you were running towards _me_." he smiled as he pointed to himself and castiel kept quiet, making lucifer scoff and he rolled his eyes, "this doesn't have to be a bad thing, ya know? i let gabriel live, didn't i? hell, i _want_ him to live. and, i can bring your folks back too! i want you to be happy, cas!"  
  
"i don't want _anything_ from you!"  
  
"...... _really_? not even a little payback?"  
  
"what's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"none of these little _devils_ look familiar to you?" lucifer smiled as he moved a little to the side, giving castiel a clear shot of the meatsuits behind him and the boy in the mirror looked closer, his expression falling as he recognized everyone.  
  
"th-that's mr.bensman.....one of my grade school teachers."  
  
"and that's your friend doug, from that time in east lansing. oh, and of course, we have theo....your prom date _and_ your first boyfriend."  
  
castiel's stomach twisted in anger and fear as he stared the people behind the archangel, hoping that the demon's inside them wouldn't kill their vessels because lucifer asked.  
  
"castiel novak, this is your life! azazel's gang--watching you since you were a rugrat! jerking you around like a goddamn dog on a leash!" lucifer announced, holding his arms out and standing in an over dramatic showing-off pose.   
  
"i know how you feel about them....so, how about we blow off a little steam?"

  
**•◇•**

  
gabriel sat in the impala, head laid on the steering wheel as he tried his best not to just drive himself and the damn thing off a cliff.  
  
castiel, his scrawny little brother who he was a parent to, was possessed by the goddamn devil and gabriel had no idea where the fuck he was or where he was going to be.  
  
its not like he could see the-- _wait_.  
  
gabriel sat up quickly and grabbed his phone, punching the number's in and putting it to his ear as he waited for the line to be picked up, nearly crying out in joy when it did.  
  
" _mistress magda_."  
  
"um...no, chuck." gabriel retorted, trying not laugh at how the prophet had greeted him on the phone, " _oh--uh, gabriel. i--wow, i, uh, didn't know that you'd call_."  
  
"who's mistress magda?"  
  
" _nothing! she's a--uh, a close friend_."  
  
"yeah, i'll bet, real close, whatever happened becky?" gabriel questioned because last time he checked, chuck had been seeing crazy-fangirl-lady and he doubted that she'd leave hin voluntarily because he was "carver edlund".  
  
" _didn't work out. i had too much respect for her._ "  
  
"uh-huh, you really out there with--"  
  
" _okay, this can't be why you called!_ "  
  
".....cas said yes." the hunter mumbled, the phrase leaving a bitter on his tongue, and he hated that what he was saying was true. " _....i know, i saw it....m'just working on the pages_."  
  
"did you see where the title fight goes down?"  
  
" _the angels are keeping it top secret, very hush-hush_."  
  
"aw, crap--"  
  
"-- _but, i saw it anyway, perks of being a prophet._ " chuck smiled through the phone and gabriel let out a small breath of relief, " _its tomorrow, high noon, place called stull cemetery_."  
  
"stull ceme--wait, i know that, that's an old boneyard outside of lawrence...why lawrence?"  
  
" _i dunno, it all has to end where it started, i guess._ "  
  
"chuck, do you know of any way to short circuit this thing?"  
  
" _besides the rings? no, i'm sorry_."  
  
"do you have any idea what's gonna happen next?"  
  
" _i wish that i did....but i-i honestly just don't know yet._ " the prophet whispered, voice filled with sadness and worry and gabriel bit the inside of his cheek, "its okay....thanks chuck." he mumbled before hanging up, putting his phone back in his pocket and getting out of the car.  
  
"you goin' someplace?!"  
  
the hunter looked up as he heard bobby shout, seeing the older man and sam walking towards him, the angel looking strangely small and afraid considering how tall and powerful he usually looks, even when he was falling he still had that strong walk and look to him.  
  
but, now, he just looked like a kicked puppy.  
  
"you're gonna do somethin' stupid, you got that look." bobby mumbled as gabriel fiddled with the keys, the man taking a deep breath as he looked down at his hands, "i'm gonna go talk to cas."  
  
"you just don't give up."  
  
"its cas!"  
  
"if you couldn't reach him here, you're certainly not gonna be able to on the battlefield."  
  
"well, if we've already lost, then i ain't got nothing to lose, right?"  
  
"i just want you to understand, the _only_ thing that you're gonna see out there is michael _killing_ your brother." sam spoke, voice thick with emotion and gabriel swallowed thickly, blinking some tears away, "well, then i ain't gonna let him die alone."

  
**•◇•**

  
lucifer watched a crow fly over his head, the bird zooming to the other side of the cemetery or possibly even further away, as if it sensed the chaos that was about to take place.  
  
the archangel turned as he heard the flutter of angel wings, turning and meeting eyes with michael, who had chosen jimmy novak, the unknown novak twin, to be his vessel.  
  
"its good to see you, michael." lucifer breathed out, the tiniest smile on his face at the sight of his brother, "you too." the other archangel spoke, his face remaining emotionless though.  
  
"its been too long."  
  
"can you believe its finally here?"  
  
"no, not really." michael spoke, advancing forward and taking a deep breath, "are you ready?" he continued and lucifer sighed, "as i'll ever be.....a part of me wishes we didn't have to do this."  
  
"yeah.....me too."  
  
"then _why_ are we?"  
  
"oh, you know why. i have no choice after what you did."  
  
"what i did? what if its not my fault?"  
  
"what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"think about it." lucifer spat, clenching his fists by his side and standing tall, "dad made _everything_ , which means he _made_ me who i am! god _wanted_ the devil! he shouted, moving closer to michael, who was so devoid of emotion that it was rather frightening. "so?"  
  
"so, _why_?! and _why_ make us _fight_?!.....i just can't figure out the point."  
  
"what's _your_ point?"  
  
"we're going to kill each other, and for what? one of dad's tests...and we don't even know the answer." the devil sighed, castiel, who was still struggling to win control, was surprised that the archangel sounded sad that they were going to do this. "we're brothers, lets just walk off the chesseboard."  
  
michael took a deep breath, shifting on his feet as he thought about his brother's proposal, "i'm sorry, i-i can't do that." he spoke and lucifer clenched his jaw, "i'm a good son and i have my orders--"  
  
"but, you don't have to follow them."  
  
"you think i'm gonna rebel? _now_? i'm not like you!"  
  
"please, michael--"  
  
"you haven't changed a bit, little brother. always blaming _everybody_ , but yourself!" michael spat, lucifer's heart falling as he listened to his brother speak, "we were together. we were happy. but you betrayed me--all of us! and you made our father leave!"  
  
"no one makes dad do _anything_! he is doing this to _us_!"  
  
silence washed over the two as they stared at each other, the only sound being the minor noises of nature before michael decided to speak; "you're a monster, lucifer, and i have to kill you."  
  
"....if thats the way its _gotta_ be.....then i'd like to see you _try_."  
  
the two began stalking each other, like wild animals, as they paced around in a circle, waiting for the other to attack, but it was like neither of them wanted to make the first move that would inevitably be their end.  
  
the archangels turned their heads at the sound of an engine revving, their eyes searching for what car made the sound, but both of them had a good idea of who it was.  
  
_gunter glieben glauchen globen!_  
  
the car's stero sounded, volume turned all the way up as def leppard began playing as a gleaming white impala turned into the cemetery, gabriel behind the wheel as he pulled up.  
  
the hunter parked the car, but left the music playing as he opened the car door, leaning out it as he looked at his archangel-possessed brother's.  
  
"howdy boys!" he announced and the two celestial beings glared at him, making him feel incredibly uneasy, but he had to hide it. "sorry, am i interrupting something?" he asked as he fully stepped out of the car, slamming the door and turning the stereo off.  
  
"we needa talk."  
  
michael and lucifer exhanged a look as gabriel walked towards them, the archangels giving each other an ' _is he serious_?' look before glaring back at him.  
  
"gabriel. even for _you_ , this is a whole new mountain of stupid."  
  
"i'm not talking to you, i'm talking to castiel."  
  
"you're no longer the vessel, gabriel." michael spoke up, catching the hunter's attention, "you got no right to be here." he continued and gabriel swallowed thickly, staring at the brother he didn't know he had until a year ago.  
  
"jimmy, if you're in there somewhere, i am _so_ sorry--"  
  
"james isn't home right now."  
  
"well then you're next on my list, buttercup. but right now, i need five minutes with _him_." gabriel retorted, turning back to cas-- _lucifer_ , but michael wasn't finished. "you little maggot, you are no longer a part of this story!"  
  
"hey! assbutt!"  
  
the three turned, seeing sam standing with bobby, a molotov cocktail in the angel's hand and the older hunter behind him, said angel chucking the flamed bottle at michael.  
  
the archangel screamed as burst into flames, gabriel and lucifer looking away from him before he disappeared.  
  
" _assbutt_?" gabriel asked, turning to sam who just shrugged, "he'll be back and upset, but you got your five minutes." the angel breathed out and he looked to lucifer, his strong expression morphing into one of fear.  
  
" _samuel_....did you just _molotov_ my _brother_ with _holy fire_?"  
  
"uh......no."  
  
" _no one_ dicks with michael, but _me_." lucifer spat, glaring at sam and he raised a hand, snapping his fingers and the angel and his vessel exploded, leaving nothing but a mist of blood and guts.  
  
and if lucifer felt a rush of glee when he heard castiel screaming inside him for killing sam, nobody had to know.  


"cassie, can you hear me?"  
  
lucifer turned to gabriel, the shorter man breathing heavily and the archangel sighed, "you know....i tried to be nice, i really did, for _cassie's_ sake." he mumbled as he moved forward, grabbing the man's jacket collar and gripping tightly, "but you are _such a pain_...... _in my ass_."   
  
the archangel threw gabriel at the impala, his body crashing against the windshield and shattering it, lucifer smiling as the hunter groaned in pain and he moved forward, stopping as he felt a bullet enter his back and he turned, receiving another bullet in the chest from bobby.  
  
"that tickled." he smirked as he looked down at the bleeding wound in his chest and he raised his hand, flicking his wrist and snapping bobby's neck, "nooo!" gabriel shouted just as castiel did, watching in horror as their surrogate father collapsed to the ground, dead.  
  
"oh, yes." lucifer smiled as he moved forward, grabbing gabriel by the ankle and pulling him off the hood of the car, getting him to his feet and punching him across the face, smilimg as he saw the blood pour from his mouth and stain the white paint of the car.  
  
"cassie? are you in there?"  
  
"oh, he's in here alright."  
  
lucifer clocked gabriel across the face once again, the man falling against the car and more blood pouring from his mouth, "and he's gonna feel the snap of your bones!" he shouted before grabbing the hunter and hitting him, sending him to the ground. "every. single. one!"  
  
lucifer moved forward, picking the bloody man off the ground and slamming him against the car's door, "and we're gonna take our sweet sweet time." he smiled before giving him several punches to the face.  
  
"cas, its okay!" gabriel mumbled through a mouthful of blood, trying to grab _castiel's_ jacket, "its okay, i'm here, i'm here...i'm not gonna leave you."  
  
lucifer rolled his eyes, punching him a couple more times and trying to get him to just _shut the fuck up already_.  
  
"i'm not gonna leave you!"  
  
lucifer relled back, ready to deliver the final blow, but he froze as he felt castiel fighting back stronger than before, his eyes shifting to the impala and a small toy caught his eye, a little green soldier that castiel had crammed into one of the ashtrays.  
  
thousands upon thousands of memories flashes before lucif-- _castiel's_ eyes, every moment he's ever spent with gabriel filling his mind as he stared at the toy.  
  
castiel gasped as he took control, letting go of gabriel and staggering back, groaning from the struggle as he fought the archangel inside of him.  
  
the younger hunter looked to his brother, bruised and bloody on the floor, and he felt the urge to cry, breathing heavily as he stayed in control _for gabriel_.  
  
"its okay, gabe." he panted, the man looking up at him and castiel let himself smile a little, "its gonna be okay."  
  
"i've got him!"  
  
castiel fished into his pocket, pulling out the horsemans' rings, throwing the "key" onto the ground before beginning the chant.  
  
_bvtmon! tabges! babalon!_  
  
the ground began caving in on itself, castiel gasping for breath as he watched a giant hole begin to form, wind howling and whipping around him as he waited for the hole to fully create itself.  
  
castiel turned, looking at gabriel and he swallowed thickly, still breathing heavily as he moved a bit closer to the entrance to the cage.  
  
"castiel!"  
  
the hunter turned and he saw jimmy-- _michael_ , standing a few feet away from him, "its not gonna end this way! step back!"  
  
"you're gonna have to _make_ me!"  
  
"i have to fight my brother, castiel! here and now! its my destiny!"  
  
castiel looked to gabriel, in a bloody heap on the dirt, shaking with the struggle it takes to keep lucifer back.  
  
fuck destiny! he needed to do this! he needed to save the _world_! he couldn't save everyone, but he could save most of them.  
  
he could save _gabriel_.  
  
castiel opened his arms out, letting himself fall backwards and michael shouted at him, running forward and grabbing him by the collar, but castiel grabbed michael's arm, pulling him in as well and the two tumbled into the gaping hole, falling into the cage.  
  
a bright light burst from the hole, gabriel having to shield his eyes from it, turning back after the flare died down and he saw flat ground, the rings sitting there as if nothing happened.  
  
gabriel slowly made his way to the spot where the hole was, sitting in his knees and staring down at the dirt, tears and blood dripping from his face and down onto the ground.  
  
it felt like he was sitting there for hours until he heard a flutter of wings, causing him to turn and he froze as he saw sam standing above him, "sam, you're alive?"  
  
"i'm better than that." the angel whispered and put two fingers to gabriel's forehead, healing him in seconds and the hunter sat there in shock before slowly raising to his feet, looking at sam in amazement.  
  
"sam, are you god?"  
  
"thats a nice compliment, but no." sam smiled and taking a breath, "although, i do believe he brought me back." he mumbled before turning around and starting to walk away, "new and improved."  
  
gabriel watched as sam bent down besides bobby's body, touching teo fingers to his temple answering healing him, the older man taking in a deep breath and opening his eyes, sam giving him a tiny smile as he sat up before the angel got up himself, walking off and flying away, leaving behind two hunters in shock.

**•◇•**

  
"so, what're you gonna do now?" gabriel asked as he drove the impala, sam in the passenger seat as he did, the angel having flowm in about five minutes ago.  
  
"....return to heaven, i suppose."  
  
"heaven?"  
  
"with michael in the cage, i'm sure its total anarchy up there."  
  
"so what? you're the new sheriff in town?" gabriel asked and he saw the corner of sam's mouth quirking up into a smile, "i like that, yeah, i suppose i am." he smiled and gabriel couldn't help but smile too.  
  
"you gonna leave for good? go back to being god's soldier again?"  
  
"i...i don't know what _god_ wants, i don't know if he'll even return, it just....seems like the right thing to do."  
  
"well, if you _do_ see him, telling him i'm coming for him next." gabriel muttered and sam looked at him, "..you're angry.."  
  
"yes, but it's fine, i'll be fine--"  
  
"he helped, gabriel, maybe even more than we realize."  
  
"sam, i get it...maybe he did help, but he didn't help the way i wish he did."  
  
"what did you wish for?" sam asked and gabriel sighed, shrugging a bit, "i dunno...probably my brothers not in a fucking cage _built_ for the _damn devil_."  
  
"i'm sorry gabriel, i wish--"  
  
"don't sweat it, sammy....at least i still got you and bobby, right?"  
  
"but, you want more than that, don't you?" sam mumbled and the hunter sighed, biting his cheek and shaking his head slightly, "of course i do...but, i'll take what i can get, ya know?"  
  
"yes, i know.....i'll be in touch, gabriel."  
  
sam vanished with a whoosh of his wings and gabriel looked at the now empty passenger's seat, gripping tighter onto the steering wheel as he stared at the road.

  
**•◇•**

  
gabriel got out of his car, walking up to the door of the beautiful suburban house that he remembers like that back of his goddamn hand and he gently knocked against the wood.  
  
the door slowly opened and gabriel smiled as he saw the woman he loved, her hair messy from sleep and dark red robe over her shoulders, her eyes widening as she saw him.  
  
"hey kali."  
  
"oh, thank god....are-are you alright?" kali whispered and every part of gabriel's being wanted to say no, but he just nodded, "y-yeah." he whispered and his voice broke as he responded, "if its not too late, i....i think i'd like to take you up on that beer."  
  
kali smiled at him, "its never too late." she cooed and the hunter let out a breath, walking forward and hugging her tightly, the shorter woman rubbing his back gently and running a hand through his hair,"its okay, its gonna be okay gabriel." she cooed and gabriel buried his face in her neck, letting the tears flow.


End file.
